Hey Ladies and Dudes. And Jeff.

In the past couple of months, I've shifted my focus from writing shorts to features. My question is, when you guys are writing a feature, how many pages do you typically try to write a day? My current goal is write at least five pages a day. How do you guys do it? Do you even keep count of how many pages you write?

Bonus question. Any general tips for writing a feature? After more than a decade of writing nothing but shorts, I can use all the advice I can get.

Zack

Five pages a day is an excellent goal. You'll be done in no time. No rush, of course.

I haven't written a feature in years, so it's hard to recall, but I'd like to say my average was around 3-5. My general habit was to write a scene. If there were smaller scenes or transitions bookending a scene, I would tend to write those too. That said, I've spent as little as three weeks to over six months writing a feature. All depends on you're feeling at any given time, I expect.

My shortest feature took about 3 months and my longest a little over 2 years so who knows. But 5 a day seems like a good goal.

Quoted from Zack Bonus question. Any genrale tips for writing a feature? After more than a decade of writing nothing but shorts, I can use all the advice I can get.

Missed this.

General tip is don't stop writing. If you hit a snag, try to find a way to push through it. Even if you end up a little short of feature length page-wise, it should still be an achievement, given that it's your first try (unless you're waaay off the mark). You can always build on you have or try again with a more developed feature idea.

Quoted from James McClung General tip is don't stop writing. If you hit a snag, try to find a way to push through it. Even if you end up a little short of feature length page-wise, it should still be an achievement, given that it's your first try (unless you're waaay off the mark). You can always build on you have or try again with a more developed feature idea.

I think James gives excellent advice here. A feature is an intimidating animal. It can become an unruly mess in no time at all and a person looks at it and it's deflating.

I'm just about finished reading an excellent book entitled: The Plot Whisperer by Martha Alderson

I would highly recommend it. Especially if you read and apply its guidance as you move through its pages. I think it can really help to guard against floundering in a sea of creativity where one has plenty of ideas, all undeveloped, unfinished, forgotten... shelved.

James says to "push through". This is exactly what Martha says and she adds some interesting psychological reasons as to why this can be so difficult for writers. Clues into ourselves. Maybe we are the biggest and most difficult things to hack.

Hope that book is a suggestion that helps.

Sandra

I wrote a couple of feature length scripts before I ever did any shorts, and now regret it as it makes tackling another feature seem so daunting. Whereas before I just did it cos I didn't know any better.

So my advice is go back in time and don't do any shorts.

Thanks for all the advice guys. What do you think of jumping back and forth between multiple different projects? Is that a bad idea?

Zack

Quoted from Zack What do you think of jumping back and forth between multiple different projects? Is that a bad idea?

Between multiple features? Nah, dawg. Write one. Then try. This being your first go-around, I'd advise focus.

Now if we're talking shorts... this being your first go-around, I'd advise focus. BUT... big deal if you drop a 5-pager in somewhere along the line. If memory serves, your shorts have tended toward the shorter end of the spectrum. Still, you might find writing a feature more difficult than expected. I think it'd help to stay the course and try to find yourself in a groove of some kind.

Quoted from Zack Thanks for all the advice guys. What do you think of jumping back and forth between multiple different projects? Is that a bad idea? Zack

This is not a bad idea... but not always a good idea... Why?

Because we need to recognize why we're working on different projects and perhaps, self sabotaging  ourselves.

Is it because:

A. We need a break from what we've been working on.

Or...

B. We're really just shoving the clutter under our bed because we don't want to deal with the real work of cleaning up the mess.

At some point we need to make the decision to continue to work on a project to completion.

...even if we've got stuff shelved... If all we've got is stuff shelved, we know we have a Completion Problem.

Sandra

Quoted from Zack Thanks for all the advice guys. What do you think of jumping back and forth between multiple different projects? Is that a bad idea? Zack

I've tried it (my reason being, I am impatient - so half way through 1 feature, I get an idea for another and just start it)

It started off well - It gave me a chance to step back from each individual feature, and when I got back to it, I had fresh eyes and could see it better.

But then it dragged - As I got further into each feature, whenever I flipped back from one to the other I found myself spending most of my time re-reading and re-understanding what the hell I had written a few weeks earlier. I ended up writing less, understanding my individual stories less - so I would suggest putting everything into 1 feature at a time.

I wrote my first proper feature last year. I say proper as I’ve had two previous attempts to write a feature, both have been disasters. With work, family etc. I don’t get time to write during the week. This has always put me off writing a feature or a novel.

So I used “Coffee Break Screenwriter: Writing Your Script Ten Minutes at a Time” by Pilar Alessandra. I highly recommend it. What this did was help me to completely plan the entire script before I started writing it. I cannot stress how important it is to know pretty much everything that is going to happen before you right FADE IN. This is really difficult for writers. When they get excited about a new project, they want to write NOW!

Then when I was actually writing it, I managed between 10-15 pages each weekend. During the week, I’d do whatever research and prep I needed for the next 10-15 pages so by the time I sat down, I was ready. I’m not sure how long this took exactly. I started planning around April last year and finished the 2nd draft in October.

As for jumping back and forth, ask yourself why? If it’s because a director has approached you about something else? If so, then, of course, you need to prioritise work. If it’s because you are getting bored with one project or excited about a new idea I’d suggest fighting those impulses. As writers, we need to discipline ourselves against chasing after shiny new things.  

Quoted from MarkRenshaw So I used “Coffee Break Screenwriter: Writing Your Script Ten Minutes at a Time” by Pilar Alessandra. I highly recommend it. What this did was help me to completely plan the entire script before I started writing it. I cannot stress how important it is to know pretty much everything that is going to happen before you right FADE IN. This is really difficult for writers. When they get excited about a new project, they want to write NOW!

I just wanted to chime in on this little piece right here. That's good advice, but it can be taken too far in the wrong situation. Take my word for this when I say that it is a good idea to have a general idea of where you want your script to go next, but don't become a slave to it.

Quoted from Mr. Blonde I just wanted to chime in on this little piece right here. That's good advice, but it can be taken too far in the wrong situation. Take my word for this when I say that it is a good idea to have a general idea of where you want your script to go next, but don't become a slave to it.

Yes, there is a danger of that. The complete opposite of the writer who starts page 1 as soon as the idea pops into their head is the writer who spends months planning and never writes the bloody script lol!

Quoted from MarkRenshaw Yes, there is a danger of that. The complete opposite of the writer who starts page 1 as soon as the idea pops into their head is the writer who spends months planning and never writes the bloody script lol!

Yeah... Me. Lol. Except, replace "months" with "years" and "never" with "eventually".